December 17, 2014

The Bizarre and the Unbridled: an interview with Scott Cole, author of "SuperGhost"

Scott
Cole is an artist, graphic designer, and writer, all at the same
time. His imagery has been seen in magazines and art galleries, as
well as on that flyer you picked up at the coffee shop, and his short
stories have appeared in a handful of anthologies, with many more
publication credits coming soon. He lives in Philadelphia, listens to
strange music, and loves cold weather. (source: www.13visions.com)

Scott's new book, SuperGhost, came out this fall and I had the chance to ask him a few questions about it and other bookish things. Enjoy.Gef:
What
was the impetus for SuperGhost?Scott:
Well,
for a long time, I considered myself to be strictly a short story
writer. I definitely wanted to write something longer, but it never
really seemed to work out. At the same time, I knew I needed to come
up with something that was at least novella-length - if for no other
reason than to stand a better shot at landing something with a
reputable publisher.

Eventually
it occurred to me that a couple of my short story ideas - one about a
mad scientist fusing phantom limbs and another about something that
happens in the second half of SuperGhost (which I won't spoil here) -
would work really well together if I combined them.Of
course, this realization came to me just as the lights were going
down at a film screening I was attending with a friend. I spent the
entire movie half paying attention to the film, half shaking with
excitement about these puzzle pieces fitting together. As soon as the
movie was over, I pulled out my phone and started furiously typing
notes.

Not
long after that, I bounced the basic premise off my friend Adam
Cesare. He liked the concept, which was encouraging. So I basically
told him to nag me about it on a regular basis until I finished
writing it. He did, and thankfully I finished it in time to submit to
Eraserhead Press for their New Bizarro Author Series. A few rewrites
and revisions later, here we are.

Gef:
What
kind of a gear shift is it when writing a bizarro story as opposed to
something more conventional, assuming there is one?

Scott:
For
me, the Bizarro stuff comes much more naturally. I notice more of a
shift, or at least more difficulty, when I try to write more
conventional, straightforward horror.

Maybe
it's just that there's so much freedom in Bizarro fiction. It's
ridiculously fun to write. Not that there isn't freedom in other
types of fiction - but with Bizarro, it's a bit more "anything
goes".

Gef:
What
little tricks have you picked up with approaching your
writing?

Scott:
I
don't know that I have any real tricks. Most of it comes through
practice, and through reading a lot, I think.

I
also think it's important to read one's writing out loud. There
should be some sense of rhythm or music to the words.

One
piece of advice that I always like to pass on is something I heard
years ago, in a Q&A with comic book writer Brian Bendis, back
when he was doing his indie crime comics. It's simply this: "Arrive
late, leave early" - meaning that you don't have to write every
scene from the very beginning to the very end. You don't have to
write the part where the characters walk into a room. You can start
the scene halfway into their conversation. And you don't have to
watch them leave the room either.

The
one trick I *want* to learn is how to get all these ideas down
faster. There are so many things I want to write, but only so many
hours in the day, and most of them get spent at the day job or
asleep.

Gef:
What
do you consider to be the strength or saving grace of bizarro
fiction?

Scott:
I've
described Bizarro fiction in the past as being all about unbridled
creativity. That's what drew me to it in the first place - the insane
ideas, the twisted characters, the beautifully bizarre visuals.

Of
course, a truly successful story is going to need plot and character
too. But when you've got that substance and it's enrobed in a
delightfully weird coating of Bizarro style...Mmmmm...it's so
delicious.

Gef:
What's
the worst piece of writing advice you ever received? Or what piece of
writing advice do you wish would just go away?

Scott:
That's
a tough one, actually. I'm not sure I ever received any truly awful
writing advice. If I did, I may have just ignored and forgotten about
it.

That
said, I think if anyone tells you that every element in your story
must be fully explained, they're probably a pretty boring
writer.

And
I think when we tell kids in school that they need to write in
complete sentences, we should maybe explain to them that that idea
can flex a bit in fiction. Or maybe I'm just over-thinking the
question.

Gef:
What
kind of guilty pleasures do you have when it comes to books or movies
or whatnot?

Scott:
I
don't really feel much guilt about loving the things I love. I mean,
I think some people who read Bizarro fiction would consider it a
guilty pleasure, embarrassing in some way because of how weird it can
be, but I don't. I mean, there are certain things I won't pull up on
my monitor at work, but that's for other peoples sake. As far as I'm
concerned, weird is wonderful.I
love all kinds of stuff in all kinds of media - everything from film
noir to '70s exploitation films and cheesy '80s slasher movies. I
love graphic design and 1950s horror comics and public sculpture and
old-time radio drama and live theater and vintage toys. Some of it is
very serious stuff, some of it is totally silly, but I'm not really
embarrassed about any of it. If I was, I guess I wouldn't mention it
here.

Gef:
We're
coming up to the end of the year, which means everyone and their mama
is writing a year-end lists. So what book, movie, game, show, song,
or dirty limerick has found its way to the tippy-top of your
favorites this year?

Scott:
I
feel like I'm perpetually a few years behind on new release stuff
these days. But I do catch a few things.

My
favorite movies of the year were probably SNOWPIERCER, UNDER THE
SKIN, and the JODOROWSKY'S DUNE documentary. And I recently saw IT
FOLLOWS at a film festival, which I thought was really kind of
brilliant. THE TRIBE was really interesting too - it's a sort of
crime story set at a school for the deaf. The film is done entirely
in sign language with no subtitles or translations, and it's pretty
powerful - especially the ending. THE BABADOOK will probably make my
year's best list too. I want a copy of that pop-up book.

I've
read a ton this year, but it's mostly been older stuff - some
hardboiled crime novels, some classic horror, and a ton of
recent-if-not-quite-new Bizarro. For some reason I've gotten a little
obsessed with 1970s and '80s horror movie novelizations in the last
few years too. So I'm chipping away at reading some of those here and
there as well.

Gef:
What
projects are you cooking up that folks can expect in the near future,
and how can folks keep up with your shenanigans?

Scott:
It's
funny - now that I finally figured out how to write something longer
than 3000 words, I've got a slew of ideas for longer-form fiction.
I'm starting work on a couple more novellas now, but they're in the
early stages, and I probably shouldn't say much about any of them
just yet. Of course, whether they see the light of day or not will to
some degree depend on people picking up SuperGhost,
wink-wink...

I'll
continue writing short stories and flash fiction too. I doubt that
will ever stop.

People
can find me on Twitter (@13visions) and Facebook (/scottcole13), and
at my website (www.13visions.com).